


And They Were Coworkers (Oh My God They Were Coworkers)

by EmmaLeeWrites



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies), The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Also Grogu is still a little green alien, Boba and Fennec work with the T-Rex because of course, Cara is too, Din has romantic feelings, Din is the Velociraptor Handler, Dinosaurs have feathers damnit, I will take liberties, I'm not a dino expert but I'm trying, It's not Omera, Jurassic World AU, M/M, Multi, Nobody comments on it, Not Deinonychus with a different name, Not really any Jurassic Park/World characters, Original Character(s), Other, The tags don't know, There are other Star Wars characters present, Velociraptors are actual Velociraptors, but with who??, except for Gideon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28805334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaLeeWrites/pseuds/EmmaLeeWrites
Summary: Din has worked at Jurassic World for quite a few years now as the Velociraptor Handler. Cara is the secondary handler, but everyone knows he would've crashed and burned if she wasn't around. Between his job and taking care of Grogu, Din doesn't have much time for anything else. Still, when he does have a little extra time, he's not against spending it with a coworker or two. Even if he should really be cleaning his trailer instead.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	1. Raptors

Din finishes lacing his boots and stands, stretching. Early morning light shines through the windows of his small trailer, illuminating the messy floors and dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. The mess he never has time to clean up, and hardly cares to anyway. It’s not like he ever has visitors. He yawns. “Alright, kid, where are you hiding?”

From somewhere down the hall, Grogu giggles. It’s barely audible, but Din’s used to picking out quiet sounds. He smiles. He makes his way down the hall as quietly as he can, a skill honed by years of working with his Velociraptors. He pokes his head into Grogu’s room. Despite being a kid’s room, it’s by far the cleanest room in the house. The floors are clear of toys and dirty clothes, the small bed is made (not that there’s many blankets to be had on Isla Nublar, being a tropical island and all), and the clothes are nicely folded and put away.

Din looks around, finding no sign of Grogu. He moves on to his own room. He hasn’t put nearly as much effort into maintaining cleanliness here. His bedside table is a mess of old water cups. Laundry-- both dirty and clean-- is spread across the floor. He has a hamper, of course, but it’s full and Din hasn’t had the time to actually wash anything other than Grogu’s clothes.

Din spots a long green ear poking out from under a pile of clothes. He smiles, feeling a rush of warmth in his chest. He’s had Grogu for nearly two years now, and he’s never once regretted it. He walks over and stops in front of the pile of clothes. He crouches. He taps Grogu’s ear. From underneath the pile, Grogu giggles again.

“I know you’re there, you little womp rat. Come on out.”

Grogu crawls out, struggling just a bit. “Ba!”

“Are you ready to go play with Winta?” Din asks.

“Ba!” Grogu lifts his hands up.

Din complies, settling Grogu in the crook of his arm. “Let’s go, kid.”

The UTV ride is nice. It’s still cool enough that the air itself isn’t sweltering, but it’s warm enough that the wind hitting them isn’t cold, either. Din drives with one hand, the other placed gently across Grogu to make sure he doesn’t try to slip out of his seatbelt. He’s done it before, he’ll try it again, and Din isn’t interested in what might happen if Grogu succeeds.

Din’s trailer is away from the main park; like other employees, he could’ve accepted a room in the hotel or in one of the condos, but he’d much preferred staying out of the way of the main park. It’s quieter, and he likes the view of nature more than he does one of concrete and amusement park guests. It’s not like it’s more dangerous to live out of the way, either. It’s a win-win situation, as far as Din’s concerned, and to top it all off he enjoys his morning and nightly rides on the UTV with Grogu.

Din drops Grogu off with Omera and Winta at the petting zoo (already packed despite the early hour) before heading to the Raptor Paddock. Cara greets him with a smile the moment he steps into the building.

“Morning, bedhead. You forget something?” She says.

“There’s no use trying to brush it.” Din says with his own smile. “It’ll just get messed up anyway.”

She snorts. Together they walk through the control area; workers rush around, same as always, to make sure the day goes smoothly. Working with carnivores-- velociraptors especially, the intelligent bastards-- is dangerous. Din’s never particularly been one to be worried about his own health and safety, but having Grogu has at least made him appreciate the lengths everyone goes to make sure the raptors don’t kill him.

“Hey-- hey, Din, Cara!” Din pauses, glancing around. One of the younger vet techs, Chester, runs over. “You’re going to be present for the checkups today, right?”

“We’re supposed to be.” Cara says before Din can say anything.

“Great.” Chester says. “I know the last time things didn’t go so well.”

_ Didn’t go so well, _ Din thinks. Last time the five raptors had had to be fully knocked out had been five years ago when they’d made the transition from living with Din at his trailer to living in the Paddock. They’d recognised what was happening and gone into a panic, one that had ended with Din missing a chunk out of his leg and two vet techs with missing fingers. Not to mention the property damage… Din hadn’t exactly been much help then, so he’s not sure how much help he’ll be this time, but at least Cara’s around now.

“You’re bringing them into the clinic, right?” Cara asks. “That’s why you have to knock them out.”

“Yeah. If we were just doing the checkups in the field like normal, sedation wouldn’t be necessary so long as we wore the correct gear. Moving them is a whole other process, and the last thing we want is the raptors to freak out when they feel the effects of the sedation, so having you two around…” Chester trails off, smiling. “Should be a piece of cake. Once we get them to the clinic you two won’t even be necessary. We’ve got it handled until we bring them back!”

“We already know this.” Din reminds him. “It’s been planned for weeks.”

Chester opens his mouth, closes it. He smiles at them again, this time decidedly more nervous than before, and strides away without another word. Din looks at Cara. She shakes her head, smiling.

“What?” Din asks. He frowns, confused.

“It’s honestly kind of endearing how oblivious you are.” Cara says.

“Oblivious about what?”

“All the new guys are afraid of you.”

“...why?”

“Well,” Cara says. She puts her arm around his shoulders. “For one, you’re the only person the raptors will listen to. For two, you act like it.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re intimidating. _I_ know you’re a huge teddy bear with a toddler you’d do anything for. The new guys only see you parading around with your raptors as the world’s most dangerous pets. Also” Cara pokes him in the cheek with her free hand. “You have a habit of saying things very bluntly. You embarrassed him.”

They stop in front of the second set of doors to the raptor den. Cara lets go of him. “I’ll try to be less… blunt.” Din says, having no idea how to do that.

“I’m sure you will.” Cara says. The amusement in her voice is palpable. “Open the doors!” She calls.

Behind them, the first set of doors close, leaving them in the small, closed off area between the control room and the raptor den. The second doors begin to open, much more slowly than the first set. Din can already hear the raptors on the other side; and, as the doors open further, he can see them waiting.

He turns to Cara. “Who else thinks I’m intimidating?”

“Like I said, the new guys. Also, Toro Calican.”

“Calican? What did I do to Calican?”

Cara looks at him. It does nothing to answer his question.

“What?”

“I’m not even going to answer that, Din.”

With an excited cry, the first of the raptors bounds over. Din crouches down, happily petting her. “Morning, Raz.”

Raz chirps. Din stands. “Alright, let's actually get into the paddock so they can close the doors behind us.”

As raptor handlers, his and Cara’s jobs are to make sure the raptors are healthy, enriched, and trained. Usually enrichment means loosing small animals into the paddock for hunting (which also doubles as feeding most of the time) or placing toys in both easy to reach and hard to reach places, depending on the toy. The raptors can usually do the rest. Training is the more difficult part, being that wild animals aren’t as trainable as domestic animals. Raptors are no different. Still, having practically been raised by Din they all have a pretty healthy respect for him. And it’s not like he’s trying to train them to do flips or anything. Just come when called, know what the word ‘no’ means, and most importantly, humans are friends. Well, it’s more complicated than that, but Din’s never really had a problem thinking of it all that way. They’re just kids, just a bit larger.

Din whistles. Immediately, the raptors stop excitedly hopping around and gather in front of them. Din looks at them. Raz is the largest, with tan plumage with darker brown flecks. The second largest is Minnie, also tan with darker brown flecks, though her head is solidly dark brown, unlike Raz. They’d both been made using DNA from buzzards, though Din doesn’t remember exactly what species. Eleven and Iga had been made using DNA from Quetzals, making their plumage far brighter than the rest. Greens, reds, and blues make up their coloring, having apparently overridden whatever coloring their base Velociraptor DNA had had. Essa is solid black. The lab had used crow DNA for her.

“Alright, good girls.” Din says once they’ve been still for long enough. He whistles again.

Minnie turns and play-attacks Eleven. The two roll around in the grass nipping at each other. Essa squawks and bounds up to Cara. Din waits for Raz and Iga, and like every day, they eventually walk up and sit right at his feet. Iga tilts her head and chirps.

“She learned that from you.” Cara says, still petting Essa.

Din crouches and lets Raz and Iga rub their noses against his face, neck, and chest to smell him. “Learned what?”

“The head tilt thing. You do it all the time.”

Din doesn’t say anything.

“You’re doing it now, Din.”

“Am not.” He is, and in an attempt to prove that he isn’t, he shoves his face into Iga’s feathery neck.

Iga chirps again, apparently happy that he’s taking part in the essential morning smell-fest. Raz shoves her away and takes her place, and Din obediently wraps his arms around her in a hug. He presses his face into her neck like he had with Iga. She squirms for a moment, then calms. Din sneezes.

He leans back and rubs his nose. Raz glares at him. “Sorry, Raz.”

She chirrups. Then she turns and walks away, joining Minnie, Eleven, and now Iga in their play. Din sneezes again.

“Better not be getting sick.” Cara says.

“Nah, it’s just the feathers.”

“You sure? Maybe you should go to the medical hut and get checked out. We’ll have all afternoon.”

Din shakes his head. “I’m having lunch with Cobb, then I promised Boba I’d hang out at the T-Rex paddock until the raptors were done.”

“Lunch with Cobb, huh? Like a date?” Cara says. She smirks at him.

Heat rushes through him. “No, not a date. Definitely not a date.”

“Does he know that?”

“Of course he does!” Din snaps. He runs his hand through his hair, embarrassed at his outburst, but more importantly, that Cara thinks Din and Cobb might have that sort of relationship. Essa gives him a strange look. She pads over, squawking softly. He presses their faces together. “I’m fine, Essa. Go play.”

He doubts she actually understands what he says, but she runs off to wrestle with her sisters anyway. Cara shoves him. “I’m messing with you. Besides, we all know you have the hots for Boba.”

“I do not.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“How long until we sedate the raptors?”

“Nice change of subject.”

Din gives her a flat look. “It would be if you let it.”

She snorts.

Din stands. “Hide and Seek?”

“Sounds good with me.”

Din whistles. The raptors spring away from each other. “Hide and Seek.” Din announces. 

He turns and covers his eyes, and hears Cara do the same. One of the raptors squawks in excitement. Din whistles again, and he hears them all run off. Cara starts the count.

“One.”


	2. Lunch

Hide and Seek goes pretty well. The raptors know how to hide in their environment, even Eleven and Iga with their bright coloring. Unlike when Din plays with Grogu (and how Hide and Seek is usually played), Hide and Seek with the raptors is a competition. The raptors hide, Din and Cara look for them, and the raptors do their best to sneak up on them without being noticed. It lets the raptors hone their hiding-- and hunting-- skills, and it forces Din to be on his toes and stay hypervigilant.

Living with a child, a young one at that, means hypervigilance is key. Not all that different than raptors, but raptors have a bit more awareness and survival instincts than children do. Grogu has a problem with putting things in his mouth and trying to swallow them, food or not, and he’d never really had to worry about that with the raptors. He’d also never had to worry about the raptors putting themselves in danger, which Grogu seems to be highly attracted to. So, playing Hide and Seek with the raptors is something he’ll probably always do.

He’s mentioned it to Mayfeld before, the whole raptors, children, Hide and Seek, and hypervigilance. Mayfeld had given him a strange look.

***

_ “So you’re telling me,” Mayfeld says, caught between smirking and openmouthed bafflement. “That working with the raptors has helped you raise your kid?” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ Mayfeld just stares at him harder. “You think it's harder to take care of a kid than it is to raise  _ velociraptors _?” _

_ “You clearly haven’t seen what Grogu gets up to. The raptors are like having dogs, or cats. They can take care of themselves. The kid can’t.” Din says. He shrugs, trying to keep his discomfort from showing. Mayfeld has a way of making Din feel seen in a way nobody else can; like he’s the singular person on a stage in front of millions. “What?” _

_ “I’m pretty sure you’re the only person in the world that thinks working with raptors is a good way to prepare for raising a kid, Brown Eyes.” Mayfeld shakes his head and grin. _

_ Din chuckles, self-consciously running a hand through his hair. “Well, I’m the only person in the world that’s raised raptors from the moment they hatched. Maybe if more people did that they’d agree with me.” _

***

After two hours of Hide and Seek-- the raptors win-- it’s time to sedate them. Din leads the raptors to the carrying cells, Cara bringing up the rear. It’s best to have them in the cells when they’re sedated so they don’t have to be carried; they might be small, but they’re still heavy. The carrying cells sit near the transport gate of the paddock. By keeping them in the paddock it lets the raptors get used to them, and they’re durable enough that there’s little the raptors can do to damage them.

Din taps the first one. “In.” The raptors shuffle, and none of them make any attempt to enter their respective carrying cell. Din sighs and taps the first one again. “I know you understand me. In.”

Raz makes a growling sound. She slinks forward, dragging her feet, and curls up in the carrying cell. He moves on to the next. Cara shuts Raz’s cell and locks it tightly. They repeat the process for the rest of the raptors, who do as told with the same amount of annoyance.

Din’s trained them well; the effort he’s put in to making sure they stay in line, know how to act around people, understand what they’re being told when they’re being told is rivaled by nothing else in his life. It’s easy to forget that they’re wild animals sometimes, ones that should be extinct at that. But Din rules unyieldingly, though kindly, and his velociraptors know that. If he says to do something, they do it.

Once he and Cara are sure there’s no way the raptors can get out of their cells, they motion for the vets to come in. There’s two vets for the five raptors, and there’s one ACU member for each vet on the chance that something goes wrong. Din gives them a nod.

From her cell, Minnie makes an unhappy sound. Din crouches beside her. “Sorry, Minnie, but this is to help you.”

Din and Cara comfort the raptors as the sedatives take effect. Luckily the sedatives are fast working, and very strong, and by the time the raptors realize that something is happening to them they’re too out of it to really do anything but stagger around in the small spaces of their cells. Din carefully keeps his hands away from the small openings, uninterested in losing a finger to a snapping jaw. And then the raptors are out with hardly a fuss and are being carried away for their checkups.

***

Din makes his way through the park, dodging excited guests as best he can. A great many of them don’t notice him at all, far too interested in whatever attraction they’re at or heading to. The rest give him wide-eyed looks. Everyone knows that there’s a velociraptor attraction in the works. Most don’t know exactly where the raptors are kept (right near the main part of the park). Still, the words ‘Raptor Handler’ written across the back of his jacket catches people’s attention like little else. The lure of velociraptors is nearly as strong as the lure of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Din tries to pay the staring eyes no mind, he really does. No guest has ever come up to him. Most of the workers even seem to avoid him (and apparently, according to Cara, it’s because he’s intimidating). He still doesn’t like the attention.

He picks Grogu up from Omera at the petting zoo. Grogu isn’t entirely thrilled to be taken away from his favorite spot at the park; but, when reminded that they’re getting lunch, he cheers up. Thank god, because the last thing he wants is to take a cranky child into a restaurant.

He ducks into a small restaurant and immediately enjoys the cool air that washes over his face. He’s used to the heat, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys it. Cobb waves him over from a booth in the corner. Din hurries to meet him.

“How’s it going, Din?” Cobb greets.

Din smiles. “Same as always. Get up early, chase the kid around, chase raptors around…” He shrugs. “How’s your day been?”

Cobb sits back, resting his arms at the top of the booth. “Oh, same as always.” Cobb smirks lazily at him. “Not much happens on the Cruise, except when people do what they aren’t supposed to.”

“I assume someone did something they weren’t supposed to, then?”

“Like always. And, like always, I’m the one that has put ‘em back where they belong. Oh, hope you don’t mind, I ordered for you and the kid already.”

Din raises an eyebrow. “You don’t know what I would’ve ordered.”

“‘Course I do. You always get soup for the kid, something with meat in it, and the cheapest option for you. You’ll eat anything.” Cobb stares at him.

Warmth gathers in Din’s chest, then makes its way to his face in a blush. “Didn’t think I was that predictable.”

Cobb chuckles. He leans forward and pats Grogu on the head. Grogu coos, ears perking up, and stares at Cobb with wide, adoring eyes. The warmth returns to Din’s chest. “Nothing wrong with being predictable. Besides, it’s less about being predictable and more about being familiar.” Cobb says.

A waitress appears. She smiles at them. “Can I get you guys anything to drink?”

“Orange juice for the kid,” Din says. “Water for me, please.”

“I’ll take another coffee.”

Din waits for the waitress to walk away. He turns to Cobb. “You drink too much coffee.”

“You don’t know that.”

Din stares flatly at him. “Of course I do.”

The waitress returns, bringing their drinks. Grogu gets a kids cup with a top and straw, and still nearly spills it all over when he lunges for it. Din stops him, chuckling. “Sit down.” He tells him, and holds the cup out.

Grogu takes it in his little hands, holding it like it’s the most precious thing in the world. Din glances over at Cobb, who’s stopped in the middle of pouring sugar into his coffee to watch. Din frowns. “Everything alright?”

Cobb blinks. He returns his attention to his coffee. “Oh, everything’s fine. Just want to make sure the little womp rat wasn’t going to spill his drink everywhere.”

Din looks back at Grogu. “Don’t drink too much. You’ll ruin your meal.” He takes the drink away and sets it on the table. He turns back to Cobb. “So. What trouble have people been getting into today?”

Cobb smiles brightly, all teeth. “Well, for starters a group of teenagers went wandering near a Baryonyx nest. Shouldn’t have even been out of their kayaks, but like most teenagers, they didn’t think the rules applied to them.”

Din glances at Grogu. _ Not just teenagers, _ he thinks. “They alright?”

“‘Course they are. If the Baryonyx were dangerous they wouldn’t be part of the Cruise.”

“The involvement of a nest typically seems to change things.”

“Which is why we dealt with it in a timely manner.” Cobb smiles again. “The teens are fine, the Baryonyx is fine, just any old day at Jurassic World. We’re well equipped to deal with people not doing what they’re told.”  
The waitress arrives with their food. A plate with fries and a sandwich is set in front of Cobb, a bowl of stew is set in front of Grogu, and Din-- Din gets a steak and a side salad.

“Salad?”

Cobb shrugs. “You should eat more vegetables.”

It’s true, but concerning that Cobb knows that. He runs his hand through his hair. “Tend to be a bit busy to deal with vegetables… most fresh foods, actually.”

“You feed the kid tv meals every night?”

Din swallows. “No.”

“So stop feeding yourself that shit.” Cobb says. He leans over the table to rest a hand on Din’s shoulder. “Take care of yourself, partner. Cara’s in charge of the raptors, too, you know.”

The warmth is back in Din’s face and chest at full force. He smiles, even as Cobb’s hand leaves his shoulder and he leans back. “I’ll… think about vegetables.”

Cobb laughs. As much as Din likes his raptors, likes working with Cara, this is definitely the best part of his day so far.


	3. Tyrannosaurus

After lunch with Cobb, Din and Grogu head off to the T. Rex Kingdom. They arrive at the viewing platform in the middle of a feeding show; dozens of excited visitors crowd the windows to get a look. The raucous chattering is a bit too much for Din. Grogu seems to be in the same mindset, grabbing at his ears with a small whine. Din glances down at him.

“They’ll clear out in a bit.” Din says. He rubs Grogu’s head softly.

“Ba!”

“I know, it’s loud.”

They find a spot near the announcer’s podium; people are more concerned with seeing Rexy than they are being near the announcer, meaning that it’s actually pretty comfortable there. Boba’s nowhere to be seen. He’s probably working behind the scenes to make sure the feeding show goes right. Fennec, meanwhile, stands at the podium, narrating how the process works, what Rexy likes to eat, and generally being the people person she actually isn’t.

She smirks at him, letting the crowd carry the excited energy as she leans away from the mic for a moment. “Not going to watch the show?”

“Grogu’s seen it enough, we’re just here to wait until Boba’s free.”

She snorts. “He’s never free.”

Din lets his smile show freely. “Well, more free. When do people usually clear out after feeding shows?”

“Ten minutes or so. Most stick around until Rexy decides she wants out of the limelight.”

Din looks back down to Grogu. “Are you up for waiting?”

“Ba!” Grogu says, and wiggles to be let down.

Din sets him on his feet. Grogu waddles off towards one of the windows. He’s small enough to easily slip past peoples’ feet and find the perfect spot to watch the rest of the show. Din leans against the wall, perfectly happy to sit back and watch. He doesn’t get to see Grogu much outside of their home, so watching him have fun in the rest of the park is nice.

***

“Din!” Boba’s voice booms in the nearly-empty platform. A few of the guests still looking through the windows turn, startled, but Boba plays them no mind.

“Boba,” Din greets, much more quietly. Back in his hands, Grogu reaches for Boba. Din hands him over. “How’s work?”

“Same as always.” Boba tucks Grogu into his elbow. Using his other hand, he claps Din on the back-- hard. “How about you, hm?”

“Well, I have the afternoon off, which is nice.”

“And you’re helping me.” Boba chuckles. “Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.”

Fennec scoffs. “Get a room, you two.”

Din blushes. Something in his chest squeezes, not entirely uncomfortably. Boba’s hand, still pressed against his back, feels heavier.

Boba chuckles again. “Well, if Din asks.”

Din coughs, caught between a laugh of his own and a squeak of embarrassment. “Uh, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this at work..?”

The guests on the viewing platform have long since stopped paying attention, but Din still glances at them light they might go running to their bosses to tattle. He’s pretty sure Masrani wouldn’t care at all if any of his employees hooked up (one night stand or something more substantial), but Bo Katan would definitely be annoyed until given proof that workplace romance isn’t getting in the way.

_ Why am I even thinking about this? _

“C’mon.” Boba says, hooking his arm around Din’s to drag him away. “Fennec’s got everything handled up here. We’ve got work to do behind the scenes.”

Din lets Boba lead him into the T. Rex Kingdom’s employee-only area. There aren’t nearly as many people running around as at the Raptor Paddock. Still tucked away in the crook of Boba’s arm, Grogu looks around curiously.

“You don’t give Rexy as much attention as I do the raptors, right?”

“Rexy likes doing her own thing.” Boba stops them in front of a stack of crates. “Alright, in these we’ve got a selection of pumpkins. We have to take them out and bring them to the freezer before they start to turn. They’re too big for one person to carry around, so we either have to stack them on a cart or carry them one by one together.”

“How many can you fit on a cart?”

“Two.”

_ Of course. _ “Pretty big.”

Boba gives him a sly grin. “You say that often?”

_ What? _ He blinks, opening his mouth-- oh. He closes his mouth again as heat rises in his face. Boba chuckles-- it’s really a nice sound, Boba’s laughter, but it’d be much nicer to hear when not directed at him. “Who would I say that to?”

Boba doesn’t answer, just turns to the crates.

***

Transporting the pumpkins goes fairly quickly. Din sets Grogu down on a shelf and tells him to be good and sit still, and Grogu for once doesn’t seem interested in causing trouble. They go crate by crate. Open the crate, take out the first two pumpkins, put them on the cart, grab Grogu, push the cart down the hallways to the freezer, put the pumpkins in the freezer, go back to the crates, put Grogu back on the shelf. Move on to the next two pumpkins in the crate. Four pumpkins in a crate, eight crates, and thirty-two pumpkins. Sixteen trips.

By the end of it Din’s feeling every bit of it. He groans, stretching. “That’ll hurt in the morning.” He mutters.

“Ah, it’s no worse than a good workout.” Boba puts an arm around his shoulders. “Those raptors not giving you enough of a workout every day?”

“I tend to exercise my senses more than I do the rest of my body with the raptors.” Din admits. “Anyway. What’s next?”

“Next we ought to clean the enclosure. We’ll lure Rexy into the indoor part and lock her in while we do. You  _ might  _ want to bring Grogu back to Omera. It’s a dirty job.”

Din looks at Grogu. Grogu tilts his head and coos. “Do you want to go back to the petting zoo?”

“Ba!”

***

Din’s hardly the only person helping Boba clean the enclosure. It’s enormous, for an enormous animal, so having only two or three people clean it in the few hours they have would be, well, impossible. Din and Boba are mostly around to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary, a surefire way of knowing that something is wrong with Rexy. After their first runthrough finding nothing amiss, they move on to cleanup.

Deal with excrement and animal leftovers (not that Rexy has leftovers often, but the last thing they need is to have a rotting animal corpse in an enclosure). Leave Rexy’s nest alone. Get thoroughly covered in mud and unsavory materials.

“Why did I agree to help you?” Din asks Boba as they make their way to the showers to clean up.

“Couldn’t tell you.” Boba grunts. Still, he smiles at Din. “But I’m glad you did.”

_ I’m glad I did too, _ Din thinks. He doesn’t say it-- why would he? Cleaning animal enclosures aren’t exactly something people put on their lists of ‘top ten things to do with your friends’.

They stop at the showers. “I’m not helping next time.”

“You will.” Boba says. It doesn’t sound like a command. Just very, very sure.


	4. Home

The rest of the day passes fairly quickly. Din returns to the Raptor Paddock after cleaning up, arriving right at the tail end of the cleanup there. He helps move supplies around, restocking this and that and everything else.

Then the raptors are dropped off, still out of it from the sedatives, and he and Cara spend the rest of the day keeping an eye on them as the sedatives fully wear off. Mostly Cara just tries to get details about his ‘dates’ with Cobb and Boba, eyes full of mischief every time she opens her mouth.

They weren’t dates, Din insists, and Cara just gets more amused every time he says it.

Evening arrives, and Din once again goes to the petting zoo. Grogu is as happy to see him as always and Din says his thanks to Omera before heading home for the night in the UTV.

There’s a note attached to the front door. Din tears it down without looking at its contents and shoves it into his pocket. He has a pretty good idea who it’s from and what it’s about, and he doesn’t care. He’ll take the flak later if he has to, but he’s going to have a good night with his son, damn it.

He shrugs off his jacket and tosses it over the couch, then turns to Grogu. “Bath time.”

Grogu coos. Din pick him up, presses a kiss to the top of his head, and walks to the bathroom.

***

They’re halfway through dinner-- and Din actually cooked food this time, for both of them, instead of turning to microwavable meals like usual-- when there’s a knock on the door. Din pauses, fork halfway to his mouth. The knock comes again. He sighs.

“Of course.”

Grogu giggles. He holds his fork up.

“I should probably answer that, huh?”

Grogu giggles again. Din heaves himself up and walks to the door. Opening it reveals…

“Paz.” Din says.

Paz tilts his head. “Din.”

“Can I help you? We’re in the middle of dinner.”

“I can wait out here until you’re done.” Paz takes a step away from the door like Din would actually make him do that.

Din shakes his head. “Get in here.”

He steps to the side and Paz follows him in. Paz is still dressed for work-- his ACU outfit involves a lot of protective gear, a helmet, and several weapons, though the weapons are suspiciously missing. Paz must’ve left them at his vehicle, then. He knows Paz’s daily schedule usually involves suiting up and walking around the park all day, whether there’s an actual emergency or not. He’s probably on his way back to the main part of the park now.

Grogu appears at their feet. Din glances down at him, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t say you could get down from the table.”

Paz snorts. “Not everyday you two get visitors here.”

Din crouches and picks Grogu up, walking back to the table. Paz follows. Din plops Grogu in his chair. “Can I help you?” He repeats.

Paz shrugs. “Armorer asked me to check up on you two. You know nobody’s happy you two are living all the way out here. 

“Well, we’re fine, as you can see.” Din waves to what’s left of the food on the stove. “You’re welcome to have what’s left.”

“Am I allowed to eat it here or do I need to wait until I’m at my own home to eat?” Paz’s voice is teasing, but they both know how much Din likes his privacy.

Still, Din’s not going to be rude. Paz came at the behest of the Armorer, with good intentions, even if they are misplaced (in Din’s opinion, clearly not in Paz’s or the Armorer’s). Paz is here, now, and Din has extra food and an extra spot at the table.

It’s polite.

Din points to the extra chair. “Sit. I’ll make your plate.”

Paz does as told without even a comment. He removes his helmet, places it on the table beside him. Din makes him a plate. He keeps half his attention on Grogu, making sure he doesn’t choke (Grogu never chokes. He swallowed a frog alive once while Din watched. It was… well, kids are weird. But Grogu never chokes) or hurt himself with his fork (it’s a baby fork, it isn’t even sharp). Din worries, possibly more than he should.

They eat without speaking. Neither Din or Paz are particularly talkative, and Grogu prioritizes food above all else. It’s comfortable though, not awkward, and Din enjoys the companionable silence. It’s much different than the rest of the day Din’s had.

After they finish Din takes care of the table as Paz gets ready to leave, still without talking. Then, with a nod, Paz is out the door. Din looks at Grogu.

“Time for bed, kid.”

Grogu purrs.


End file.
